Your travel buddy will have plenty of opportunities to do that in Vegas, Zion is definitely worth the detour. I visited while I lived in Vegas and was very impressed with the park. I wouldn’t put it in the same category as the Grand Canyon, but it is certainly one of the most amazing National Parks I’ve visited. A drive-through would be an injustice. Zion has great hikes. My personal philosophy when offered the possibility to go to a National Park is always to go, you never know when you’ll have the chance to go again.

Yeah, I have been to almost every National Park this side of the Rockies and Zion is one of my favorites. this is really partially due to how much there is to do, at places like the Grand Canyon you can look at the scenery, but if you want to do much more (i.e. hike, swim…etc…) your going to have to make a 2,000ft decent. whereas at Zion you have the river right near the main lodge and there is much hiking to be done for both the the person wanting to go all out, or the guy who just wants to go on a small day hike. other then that Zion is beautiful, when in the canyon you are looking up at these 1,000+ft red sandstone cliffs on each side of you that get closer and closer together the further back you go. its really a neat place I would recommend going to anyone. and if you get up early in the morning sometimes there are Turkeys on the front lawn of the main lodge, well i thought it was cool…

Zion is by far the most “civilized” of the Ntnl Parks in Southern Utah and is only about 2 hours by car from Vegas.

So there are other tourists and young women there as well.

We hiked down to the narrows and drove to Vegas and took in a Dennis Miller show all in one day.

Zion is a great park, and though a drive-through might be an injustice, that’s pretty much what I did.

Oh, and tell your horn-dog buddy he can go for a dip in the Virgin River—that oughta pique his interest.

A drive-through might or might not be grand-canyon-amazing, depending on how many other drive-throughs you’ve made along the way.

Those parks in Utah are similar to some extent, and you get a bit tired of it if you see them all in a short time, in your car or at viewpoints.

That said, it’s a completely different story if you hike the trails. I can’t say Zion or Arches is the most amazing park out there, but the hike to Angel’s Landing in Zion and Delicate Arch in Arches are definitely my best moments with the national parks.

Dude, don’t even think about just driving through. If you love hiking/natural wonders, you could easily stay a week.

Here’s one of my photos from Zion on a day that it rained and the valley was misty. Waterfalls were sprouting everywhere.

I am biased though—I visited over 20 national parks in 8 months and Zion was my favorite.

you have to spend some time there. it’s amazing to wade through the canyons. you’re buddy can chat up the cacti.

Personally, I think Zion is far more beautiful than the Grand Canyon, and I would rather go back to Zion than the other. And it is definitely worth staying a few days. The city of Scottsdale is pretty neat too, and from what I remember offers plenty to do and a few places to grab a drink. DEFINITELY worth a stop.

There are many canyons and rocks around the world – Australia has quite a few for sure – but there is only one location where you have natural arches. I’d put Arches on the top of the list, plus it has some of the best hikes of any of the parks.

I have done both just a drive through of Zion as well as camping in the park and both are worth doing. I’ve seen National and State Parks all over the U.S. and this one is striking because of the color. The contrast between the red earth and greenery is intense. Bryce Canyon is also nearby and beautiful. Even a quick stop at each would be worth while.

Zion’s is one of the most amazing places on earth,very different from the Grand Canyon, (unless river running) comes off bland, but Zion’s can be seen from a car, a bike, by Hiking the side hikes, and is SPECTACULAR. The “narrows”, water hiking section, at the top of the park road, can take a 20 min or 8 hours depending on what kind of stream hiking you want to conquer.
A 1/2 day hike that can change your life, is Angel’s Landing, steep, dangerous, and a mind boogleing accent.
Ture Climbers might say “what ever” but as an athlete I never get sick of this trek, I always wonder how to get across the Red Rock formations to the next site.

Now to the night life, just go visit the Bit and Spur Bar, (Utahn lingo AKA, call it the “bite and spank”). Go on a Fri or Sat night when they have live music and it will satisfy the vibe for your friend. Especially in the Spring, and Fall when the climbers are in town, the bar comes alive with artists, athletes, and Southern Utah hippy crew, the liquor laws in Utah are weird so you have to order some food, and the prices are higher, but worth it.

1 day – 1 week, i have done both time frames, and Zions is always a wonder to me…—xojk

Zion is worth the detour as in the main you can drive right into it at ground level and look up whereas with the Grand Canyon you are looking down.

I actually liked Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches and Monument Valley all better than the Grand Canyon.

Unfortuntately, we won’t have time for more than a drive-through, so I will not be visiting this place on my trip. However, I would definitely like to check it out when I have some time to camp out and explore.